I didn’t expect to like this.  I was never that big a fan of the original, but then, that was really before my time.  I’ve heard it was popular back then, but so was Aqua Velva.  But I decided to watch this remake despite my disinterest.  It’s sort of an obligation, being a self-proclaimed TV critic and all that.

Color me surprised.

It’s a good show.  Not too intelligent, but not excessively stupid either.  And oh so pretty to look at … on almost every possible level.  Good looking actors, great scenery.  Hawaiian beaches.  Grace Park in a bikini on a Hawaiian beach.  You get the picture.  If you don’t, I’ve graciously provided one for you.  Enjoy.

I’m also digging the theme music.  That one is timeless.

The thing that really makes it all work, however, is the relationship between the two leads, Alex O’Loughlin as McGarrett and Scott Caan as Danny “Danno” Williams.  Sure, it’s a pretty routine bickering partners set-up, familiar to anyone who ever saw any of the Lethal Weapon movies … or anything with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker/Owen Wilson in it.  Caan’s rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness delivery when he’s chastising McGarrett is amazing, even brilliant.  I’ve never been a fan, but in this role, Caan is perfect.  And our McGarrett is nothing like the one made famous by Jack Lord.  That McGarrett struck me as being wound as tight as any human could possibly be, specially in Hawaii, and the most by-the-book kind of cop ever.  Our McGarrett … not so much.  He’s fast and loose and really rather violent.  A man for our times.

The producers/writers/creators behind this version of H50 are smart.  They’re not trying to ape the earlier incarnation.  They’ve taken the basic premise and gone entirely their own way with it.  The two versions may share a theme and a location–and a couple or three names–but beyond that, they bare little resemblance to one another.

That’s a good.  Good enough to keep me wanting more.

And then there’s Grace Park.

Did I mention the bikini?

Hawaii Five-0 airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.

As noted elsewhere herein, Friday nights are not usually a good place to be for most television series.  It’s the purgatory of network television, where good (or simply marginal) shows are sent to circle the drain before getting the final flush.  If the show airs on SpiFfy (aka SyFy), or any number of other cable locations, it might be a good thing.  But if the show airs on any of the standard ‘Nets … woooooosh.

All this makes me think that Blue Bloods is going to be your basic non-starter.  It’s an interesting take on the classic cop show premise.  Almost all the main cast members are from the same family, the Reagans, from Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) to rookie Jamie (Will Estes).  Donnie Walberg as Danny Reagan does most of the heavy lifting while Bridget Moynanan, as Erin, and Len Cariou, as Henry, round out the family/cast.

With the family drama angle we get all kinds of affairs and secrets blended in with all the standard cop drama plots (kidnapped kid in the pilot episode, subway train violence in the follow-up).  Hey, it could work.  Hell, it should work.  Only … I’m not so sure it works at all.  I like all these people, I really do.  And I’ll TiVo the hell out of this thing and likely watch each episode some time each weekend.  But it’s not really grabbing me, at least not yet.

It may have something to do with the performances by all the leads.  Everything here feels over-done and typical.  Selleck is almost too low-key while Walberg is your typical hot-head, get the job done at any cost kind of cop.  Estes is a run-of-the-mill rookie, even with the Internal Affairs angle they’re trying to establish.  And Moynanan’s overly strident lawyer character is the most off-putting of the bunch.  It’s like they bought the blueprints for all these characters from “Cop Dramas R Us”.  The plot of each episode has been straight from the factory so far, and done so much better by shows like Southland.

That’s the problem, I guess.  There’s really just nothing here.  I’m not surprised.  It is Friday night, after all.

Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS

From the PTC website, a “news” article filed under this headline: PTC Denounces CBS for New Show, “$#*! My Dad Says”.

Hey, The Parent’s Television Council loves to denounce shit. They live for that kind of stuff. That headline could simply read PTC denounces $#*! and be equally accurate.

Anyway, the article goes on to outline all the many ways PTC will exercise its mighty wrath against CBS, threatening stations, advertisers … all the usual: “The PTC will not stand silent and allow this program title to become the new accepted norm.”

“Denouncements” like this are a kind of a win/win for the PTC. If the show fails for any reason, PTC can claim credit. If the show succeeds–and given Shatner’s record on TV, it just might–PTC can shout about how the networks are corrupting our youth.

Overlooked is the simple fact that this title contains a censored form of the profanity in question. But at least the PTC recognizes that this kind of “censorship” is almost a wasted effort. Everyone knows what it really says, so why bother? It’s like spelling bad stuff around your kid after she wins the local spelling bee. You can beep all the words you want, but guess what? We know what you really said. Better still, regardless of what you might have said, we’re gonna fill in the worst possible option in our heads.

I’m not sure how, on one hand, it’s okay to use $#*! in your headline but it’s not okay for CBS to use the same symbols for the title of its show.  PTC uses the very thing they are all worked about in their own headline. Which is the more-or-less the same reason that CBS uses it in the title of the program. Shit My Dad Says (in case you missed it) is the real, unfiltered title from the internet/twitter phenomenon–and popular book–which is the inspiration for the sitcom.  I’m not sure if Jason’s recent tweet is related to the PTC’s protest, but from May 21 (uncensored and in all its glory): “They’re offended? Fuck, shit, asshole, shitfuck; they’re just words…Fine. Shitfuck isn’t a word, but you get my point.”

I agree.  But then, I’ve always been pretty certain that the PTC was mostly full of $#*! anyway.